“All the statements made so far are of no interest to us because it is the person making decisions in the government who should react,” HAK spokesman Arman Musinian told RFE/RL’s Armenian service.
Musinian referred to statements made by the chief of Sarkisian’s staff, Karen Karapetian, and senior representatives of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) last week.
They made clear that the Armenian president will not form a special negotiating team for an official dialogue with the HAK. They also said that such dialogue can not center on the holding of fresh elections, the key opposition demand.
HAK leader Levon Ter-Petrosian on Friday downplayed these statements, saying that only Sarkisian’s personal reaction would be taken seriously by his opposition alliance. He at the same time claimed that a possible failure of the dialogue would primarily harm the Armenian government.
“We have said that we are giving the authorities a reasonable period of time,” said Musinian. “When we consider that reasonable period of time to have expired, we will naturally make a corresponding statement.”
“As things stand now, the authorities led by Serzh Sarkisian still have time to react,” he added, refusing to specify the opposition deadline.
The HAK plans to hold its next demonstration in Yerevan on June 30. The rally was authorized by municipal authorities on Friday.
“The [HAK] deadline is not June 30,” stressed Musinian. “June 30 is the day of our next rally.”